#PlacementYear: Month Four

Hiiiiiiii! I know my blog has been a little quiet as of late, but I’ve been a little bit busy and Stranger Things series 2 came out and I have neglected the blog a little bit. Things are slowly getting back to normal, so I should also be getting back on track with my weekly blog posts. I’ve only just got back from a week in sunny Spain, and I’m trying to re-adjust to the freezing cold.

We’re almost at the middle of November and I’m only now getting around to posting about the month of October! New Years Resolution 2018: Get organised.

I started off October thinking it would be a quiet one compared to the things I got up to in September, but it seems I was able to fit in a lot more than expected in those 31 days!

Founders Day

On the 3rd of the month was Coty’s first anniversary of being the ‘new Coty’ – aka, one year on from the merger with P&G. The entire company was spoilt with a special lunch of Paella, followed by presentations from our general managers.

Throughout the afternoon there were talks from various companies; Facebook, GQ, ITV and Stylehaul to name a few. ITV even gave out Love Island t-shirts!! I attended the Stylehaul session where bloggers Amelia Liana and Daisie Smith were present to give their thoughts on how brands work best with influencers. I even made it onto Amelia’s Instagram story – hello to all of my 10,000 new followers!

A number of our brands were on display in the main meeting rooms with freebies and little interactive games. And of course, what would a celebration be without alcohol? Champagne and congratulations all round, here’s to the future anniversaries of the ‘new’ Coty.

Star-struck

I’m probably not the best person to be working in Influencer Marketing as the smallest ‘Z Lister’ celebrity makes me whip my phone out and take a photo, or go wide-eyed and point. I think I’m being discreet but I’m really not. I definitely think it’s because I come from a very small town and my exposure to celebrities pre 18 was basically non-existent. I don’t care if I come across as shallow or small minded but I love the celebrity world. Always have, always will.

Anyway, I was on email to one of my favourite influencers this month and I got very over excited. It was basically the highlight of my week. She’s a pretty big deal and has a pretty big deal of a brother too. I just love my job, y’know?

After the GQ Awards I didn’t think I could get much more star-struck, but a few events later, I was shaking like a leaf as I was at the same party as a HUGE celebrity crush of mine. I’ll be posting about that separately as it happened in November and I cant wait until the end of the month to talk about it.

Mailings

The purpose of these monthly placement diaries was originally to be a way to show you the role of a PR intern and the kind of things I would be getting up to. So far I’ve only been telling you about the prosecco I’ve been drinking and the celebrity events I’ve been attending. Not a true representation of my job, just the glamorous parts I assure you.

Last month saw the launch of the first ever fragrance from Tiffany & Co. which meant a lot of sending to do. We had Tiffany bottles engraved with the recipients initials, with their very own Tiffany tin and personalised notes. Over 100 Tiffany boxes were sent and as they were so incredibly personalised, all with added touches, it meant for a very lengthy process of packing.

For a job in PR, prepare to do a lot of physical work as well as desk work.

I really enjoy the mailing side of things as it allows me to get away from my desk for a while and be a little bit active and not stuck to my chair for 7 hours of the day.

Pure Beauty Awards

Back to the glamorous events we go. The Pure Beauty Awards took place at the Savoy Hotel in London and we were treated to a three course meal, the most amazing goody bag I have ever seen in my life and a great night’s craic. Another perk of this job is wining and dining in the most fancy hotels and restaurants in London that I could never afford to go into otherwise.

Another little star-struck night as Rochelle Humes was sat at the table directly beside ours and Sam and Billie Faiers were a few tables over. It was such a relaxed and fun night with Hugo Boss even scooping an award for Best Premium Male Fragrance for Hugo Iced. GQ Awards, Pure Beauty Awards – what next?!

Thor Ragnarok premiere

I attended an invitation-only private screening of Thor Ragnarok last month with two of my team in the Odeon cinema, Leceister Square – aka where they have all of the big movie premieres in London!! The screening was enormous and we were given free popcorn on our seats. Our amazing Hugo Boss Man of Today, Chris Hemsworth was very lovely to look at and the movie was hilarious.

I would definitely recommend!

I even ticked off another item on my bucket list: ‘Have Chinese food in China Town’ – belissimo. I don’t know the Chinese translation for delicious.

Burberry induction

Like I said, a lot can happen in 31 days and not all of those are working ones. As Coty have now acquired the Burberry cosmetics and fragrance side of the brand, we were invited to the flagship store on Regent Street for a brand immersion morning. The store was incredible and we learnt that it used to be an auditorium which you can notice in the layout of the shop. It is also the largest Burberry store in the world which is kind of cool.

All of the most recent runway collection was lined up in the main hall, all dressed on mannequins. I spotted a coat that I would love, but I would need to save an entire two months worth of payslips to afford it. In my dreams.

As the very much established Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Bailey has now stepped down, there will be a lot of changes to the Burberry brand and I’m very much looking forward to starting to work on the amazing cosmetics and fragrances that come with it!

Home time x2

I haven’t been back to Lurgan since April of this year, but was able to take a quick jaunt home for a few days which felt more like one in total. My family were holding a charity night that I just couldn’t miss and it was especially great as both sides of my family were attending which meant I got to see everyone in one night after not having seen them for so many months.

I was due to fly into Belfast at 9pm on the Friday evening, very excited to stop at my local Chinese on the way home but of course, EasyJet had other plans. My flight was delayed by a few hours which meant I didn’t get home until 11.45pm and it was straight to bed from the airport. I spent the entire of Saturday in Lurgan and the evening at the charity event. Then it was back to London on the Sunday. A very short stay at home which most definitely wasn’t long enough. I won’t be leaving it so long next time.

The ‘x2’ in the header is in regards to my second home, Liverpool. Yep, even in such a hectic month I was able to visit my gals in my home from home. I’ve missed Liverpool a lot more than I ever expected and it felt so good to be walking around those streets again and seeing the buildings that I’d grown so familiar with. When I stepped out of Lime Street station and saw St. George’s Hall and Grand Central Halls, I felt like I could breathe again. It was weird, but I think this whole London life seems to be an absolute dream to me. None of it feels real.

I was craving the sights and sounds of Liverpool and I got the little dose that I needed to keep me going for a bit longer here in London. It was amazing to see so many familiar faces (and clubs) but I’m not ready to go back to that partying lifestyle just yet. The two days that I spent in Liverpool were spent sleeping and drinking – what my old university life used to consist of. I really don’t miss that side of things. I’ll be a different person when I go back for my final year, watch me.

Month four, completed

I’m halfway through month five now. It’s almost time for my team to start looking for my replacement for next year. Just over a month until Christmas. Under two months until 2018. Then it will be my 21st. Then I’ll be getting ready to hand over to the next intern that comes along. I’ve only just been signed off my three month probation and now it feels that I’m leaving so soon!

Time to slow down and take every month as it comes, even if it is all flying past in a blur. I’m off to watch Stranger Things, see ya’s next month!